Accident Details
On a night cargo flight from Leningrad to Saratov with an intermediate stop at Penza, the aircraft was carrying a load of refrigerator spare parts. After takeoff from Penza Airport, while climbing, the airplane banked left to 40°, then stalled and crashed in a field located 2 km from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. All five crew members were killed.
Investigation Findings
The official investigation determined that the loss of control during initial climb was caused by an excessive accumulation of ice on both engines and propeller blades. Due to poor flight preparation and a wrong interpretation of the weather conditions, the captain decided to take off in freezing rain. The assumption that all speed indicators, altimeters, and variometers were unserviceable at the time of the accident was not ruled out. Additionally, both engines did not run at impact.